search: pop songs with weird time signatures and metric shifts

50 Cent's "Like My Style" is in 7/8, if I remember correctly.

Genesis: "Turn It On Again". Some of their earlier material with weird time signatures may not be called "pop songs" but that one is, no doubt.

oh POP. Bugger. I was about to go on a big Yes fondleftest.

fest

Ha, some youtube commentator refers to Take Five as being in 2/5.

"Play 'Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries' in 5/4, man."

I found that while looking for the Al Jarreau vocal version.
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Punchline to one of my favourite jazz anecdotes: "Kid, you don't have to play all that Elvin Jones stuff, you're making it too hard on yourself - it's just a simple backbeat on the two and the five."

(Nine Inch Nails') "March of the Pigs" has one of the most unusual meters of any song to enjoy popular radio play, alternating three bars of 7/8 time with one bar of 4/4 time (in effect, a 29/8 time signature). The song has a BPM rate of 269.

Andrew Lloyd Webber actually tended to do this:
"Memory" does some weird metric stuff during the bridge. "Take That Look Off Your Face" has some strange metric instances during the chorus.

I think everything's a pop song so I'm staying outta this.

National anthem as pop song: Flower of Scotland. It has something odd between the 'when will we see' and 'your likes again' lines. Not sure if it's a bar of 2/4 in a 3/4 song, or just the second vocal line jumping in early. In any case, it's another reason why this is a dreadful choice as a sporting anthem, because crowds can't sing it and immediately go out of time with the band.

The only song I liked in Once was the one in 5/4.

Amerie's One Thing has a curious rhythm that always seems to sidestep me.

The Who's "Happy Jack" has some strange metric shifts, switching between 4/4 and 5/4. And it was a chart hit in the US (their first), at #24.

Amerie's One Thing has a curious rhythm that always seems to sidestep me

It's just 4/4, surely?

I'm sure you're right, chap, as I'm no expert, but to a layman's ears the rhythm gallops in a pleasingly fucked up way.

It is a good funky beat, I won't contest that.

Jona Lewie 'You Will Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties' - 4/4 but the chorus comes in half a bar or so early which is odd, and then there's the bizarre switch to ragtime style (or whatever it is).

Was System of a Down's "Question!" a hit anywhere? Lots of odd stuff going on there.

The only song I liked in Once was the one in 5/4.

That was a cool one.

Also, The Music Next Door by The Lucksmiths has verses in 7/4.

Haha, MVB, I posted that joke here once. I'd like to believe that that is where you learned of it.

(Nine Inch Nails') "March of the Pigs" has one of the most unusual meters of any song to enjoy popular radio play, alternating three bars of 7/8 time with one bar of 4/4 time (in effect, a 29/8 time signature). The song has a BPM rate of 269.

I love it when people who have no concept of music theory invent little math games in their head. I had someone do this with "Hey Ya" once to me. Tried to tell me it was in 18 or something. I was like "No, there's just a measure of 2/4, guy" If you handed someone a piece of sheet music with 29/8 on it, they'd laugh you out of the room. It would be the dumbest looking piece of music ever.

"I Will Always Love You" is in 29/8 time.

f you handed someone a piece of sheet music with 29/8 on it, they'd laugh you out of the room. It would be the dumbest looking piece of music ever.
That's why I thought the 2/5 comment was funny. It would have to come from some bizarro planet where the base case was to assume 5 beats per measure.

Yeah, that sure would be dumb. But it would still be easier to look at than something in 29/8!

Haha, MVB, I posted that joke here once. I'd like to believe that that is where you learned of it.

Nope, sorry! I got it from Jazz Anecdotes by Bill Cole. (At least I THINK so - can't say for sure 'cause I just skimmed without buying.) And that bizarro planet was in fact Greece!

Well

In any case I just recently a variant answer to "How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?"

"one, five, one, five"

The more common answer being: "None, the keyboard player can do it with his left hand."

Since there is no "natural" notation for a 5th note, 2/5 is pretty much impossible to notate.

True. You might as well call it 2/4 (or maybe 2/2) and spare yourself the agita.

Unless you are in the Cyclops's cave in the Aegean Sea and they only understand 5.

Damn, what a disappointment if that's just a plain ol' joke and not a true story...:(

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I only notate music in binary.

You and everybody else

nice use of 9/8. (although it's more fun in bellydance and balkan brass stuff.)

And Wagner.

yeah, i like that 9/8 track.

yeah, who are those guys?

Nhhmbase? It's like a prog jam band?

japanese prog something something

I just noticed the post upthread but I had figured out that SDRE thing. Took me a little while though. It sounded not-too-uncommon but I was confused when I tried to actually count it! haha, moments in retardation.

anybody know steeleye span's version of "one misty moisty morning"? it does one of my favorite rhythm tricks. it has a melody line of plucked quarter-notes, nice and straightforward, but then on one of the verses they shift so the quarter-notes are played on the offbeat, while the vocal line continues as before. totally simple move, but it sounds great and weird. my dad asked me to figure out what was going on and when i told him they were just playing the offbeats he didn't believe me because it sounds like they're doing something much odder.

Beatles "It's Only Love" is in 4/4, but the guitar hook is syncopated and then the vocal comes in and takes over and is just straight quarter notes, having some similar effect to what you are describing, maybe in reverse.

Time Signature Cheat Sheet.

OK, I give up. This page lists some time signatures with really high numerators including some by Kyle Gann. If you go to http://www.kylegann.com/Gannscores.html you can actual see the score with the 29/4 time signature notated in black and white.

Maybe it's finally time to get the Moondog book.

The high numbers are just ways of saying it's a measure of 4/4 followed by a measure of 9/8 (ie 17/8) or whatever. It's speaking to form more than anything else, and I don't find it at all useful to think "oh, it's in 19/8, cool".

And to think I used to believe that Kyle Gann was a down-to-earth kind of guy.